Los Angeles Lakers point guard Lonzo Ball had his best game of the season in the team's 121-114 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Thursday night.
Ball, making his third start in a row with Rajon Rondo serving a suspension, finished with 12 points, eight assists, six rebounds and five steals in 33 minutes of action. In the Lakers' fifth game of the season, Ball looked in stride after easing back into playing shape from spending a large chunk of the offseason recovering from knee surgery.
LeBron James, who recorded his first triple-double — 28 points, 11 assists and 11 rebounds — as a member of the Lakers, has praised Ball before, but this time he pointed out how Ball's offense can open things up for the Lakers and how his defense is seriously underrated.
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"He's a very gifted basketball player," James told reporters of Ball after the game, per ESPN. "Very cerebral basketball player. I think when he's playing aggressive basketball and thinking shot-first, everything else opens up for him. He has some of the quickest hands that this league has.
"A lot of people always try to discredit what he can do offensively, but they never give him enough credit what he does defensively. Every time he's in the lineup, he's getting two, three, four steals, deflections."
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